Police say caretaker robbed elderly woman in Vineland

Jan. 18, 2013

Mark Hubbard / Photo/Vineland Police Department

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VINELAND — A homeless man, taking advantage of a destructive summer storm, used a Superior Court order to gain control of an elderly womanís Vineland home and her accounts.

Mark Hubbard, 58, was caught after investigators working on separate cases were able to piece together a series of events that led to his arrest, police said Friday.

Hubbard was hired last June, through an online Craigslist ad, to drive an 82-year-old woman with Alzheimerís disease to and from her doctorís appointments, according to Detective Richard Burkeís investigation.

After several weeks on the job, Hubbard told the woman and her 58-year-old daughter, who lived with her, that due to personal reasons he no longer had a place to live. The women invited Hubbard to stay at their house, in the 1700 block of Linden Boulevard, for a few days until he could find a new place, police said.

Then the damaging derecho barreled through the city in late June. The windstormís resulting power outages caused the elderly woman and her daughter, who also has health issues, to seek shelter at medical facilities for continued care, police said. Hubbard remained at their home during that time, according to police.

When the women returned to the house after several weeks, it was discovered that Hubbard had applied for, and received, a court order through Cumberland County Superior Court granting him control of the older womanís personal accounts and home. Police are still looking into how Hubbard managed to get the court order.

Although the elderly woman was still allowed to live at the house, the court order prevented her daughter from returning there, police said.

A neighbor then reported an unfamiliar man in the area. A police officer stopped by the Linden Boulevard house, talked to another caretaker at the property and got a feeling something wasnít right, Lt. Alan Pagnini said. That officer shared his concerns with a fellow investigator who was focused on burglaries in the area.

Police reached out to the daughter, who had not reported the incident to investigators. Instead, police learned, she was trying to resolve the matter through the courts.

During that time, police said, Hubbard was stealing jewelry, coins and personal property from the home and pawning them for several thousand dollars in cash.

Officers were able to help the daughter obtain an amended court order, also granted through Superior Court, which returned her rights as her motherís legal caretaker and banned Hubbard from the home.

Hubbard was charged Dec. 21 with theft of property and held on $20,000 bail, according to information police released Friday. The investigation continues.

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